Recent statistics concerning advancement of technology, medicine, space exploration, alternative energy exploration, etc. have shown that the United States is falling behind several other nations. Since this nation was founded, it has often attracted the best minds who found the freedom and potential prosperity here to be helpful in their desires to find a "better way". Major inventions, scientific discoveries and advancements have occurred in various places all over the world. In the past century, the United States was taking the lead. It's not that there is some kind of competition. Hopefully, stopping the spread of disease, discoveries of better and safer ways to do things is for the good of ALL mankind, wherever they live. My gripe is not that "we are losing" at all! It's more that I am concerned with the direction this country is headed. It's a great blessing to not have to struggle to find food to avoid starving or to build and maintain shelter to keep us out of the elements. We have a wide variety of "labor saving" devices. That allow us more time--------- for what exactly???
I am concerned that the increase of "free" or "leisure" time is being used in ways that ultimately spell disaster to our society. At this point, I think the only "resource" the United States leads in is the number of entertainers! We have movie stars, music stars, sports stars, film makers, video game designers, tv announcers and all related personnel in numbers far beyond any other nation. Well, maybe Japan is doing pretty well in that department, too. Most teens spend far more time on their phones/computers playing games or engaging in social media than studying actual educational material. For that matter, it appears many adults would rather watch old sitcom reruns that a documentary. Sci-fi or fantasy books are more popular than biographies or books with helpful information or history. Golf is more popular among seniors than charity work. It's not that I think entertainment is totally evil. It's only becoming disproportionate. It's like the food pyramid or plate or whatever device you may use. Fruits and vegetables should far outweigh fats and sugars in our diets but too often they don't which is resulting in an epidemic of obesity and related health problems. (I'm not even overly concerned with life expectancy- just quality of life- like not having to be on countless medications and visiting medical facilities on a regular basis because of lifestyle choices.) Time spent on frivolous entertainment or recreation should be a similar limited option. Too many people feel like that out of a 24 hour period, they should spend 10 sleeping, 3 or more eating, 2 personal grooming and hygiene, 5 or so actually performing a labor, and the rest having fun. We really only need 8 hours of sleep. And why is it more desirable to sleep from midnight to 8 am than to go to bed at 10 and get up at 6? If you are the food preparer, that could be considered time spent in labor. If you are not, like when you go to restaurants, than you really don't need more than an hour for each meal, if even that much. As for watching television or playing video games or checking Facebook or Twitter or whatever social media you might choose, that should not occupy more waking hours than constructive labors, whether physical like housecleaning, lawn mowing, or paid employment work, or if it is more mental, like designing, analyzing and researching, balancing your budget, whatever! Why do people feel the need to justify a messy house or unmowed lawn or stacks of laundry by "not having gotten to it" when, truthfully, they simply used too much time entertaining themselves?? I know I will not change the world. I can't. I'm only putting this on record as a warning that if we don't make more effort to use our time better, we're going to be REALLY SORRY!
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